Nov 2, 2008

Fighting Suppression in Swing States

If you can't convince them to vote for you: Stop as many as you can from voting.

That's the GOP's mantra, but Barack Obama and a coalition of groups are fighting back.

From the Brennan Center for Justice:

Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Russell Simmons have teamed up with the Advancement Project and the Brennan Center for Justice on a voter education campaign in the key states of Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Colorado.

The campaign kicked-off Saturday, with the release of Public Service Announcements, released to radio, which gave voters important information to bring ID and to contact 1-866-OUR-VOTE with any problems.

Radio ads can be found here.

When voters show up at the polls and have their eligibility questioned, they may be asked to vote with 'provisional ballots.' Known as a fail-safe for voters who are being challenged or who are not on the rolls, provisional ballots should be treated skeptically.

Rules vary from state to state, but these ballots are often counted only if the voter appears in a voter registration database or if the voter can provide evidence of his eligibility in the days after the election. For this reason, many provisional ballots go uncounted. In the 2008 primaries, 40% of provisional ballots were ultimately rejected.

The bottom line is that provisional ballots are not counted like regular ballots and are easy to toss out, as the New York Times reported last week. In a close race, results can rest on how many provisional ballots are ultimately counted.

Our experts can talk about voter purges, challenges, provisional ballots, voting machines, registration problems, intimidation, judicial elections, and other election day issues.

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